China's population consists of 56

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history ...

, not including some ethnic groups from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

. The Han people are the largest ethnic group in mainland China. In 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion). Besides the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

majority, 55 other ethnic (minority) groups are categorized in present China, numbering approximately 105 million people (8%), mostly concentrated in the bordering northwest, north, northeast, south and southwest but with some in central interior areas. The major minority ethnic groups in China are Zhuang (16.9 million), Hui (10.5 million),

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

(10.3 million), Uyghur (10 million), Miao (9.4 million), Yi (8.7 million),

Tujia Tujia may refer to: *the Tujia people *the Tujia language The Tujia language (Northern Tujia: Bifzivsar, ; Southern Tujia: Mongrzzirhof, ; ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken natively by the Tujia people in Hunan Province, China. It is unclassif ...

(8.3 million), Tibetan (6.2 million), Mongolian (5.9 million), Dong (2.8 million), Buyei (2.8 million), Yao (2.7 million), Bai (1.9 million), Korean (1.8 million),

Hani Hani may refer to: People * Hani (name) * Hani (producer), a record producer and remixer from New York City * Hani (singer), a South Korean singer and member of EXID * Hani people, an ethnic group of China and Vietnam Places * Hani, an island ...

(1.6 million), Li (1.4 million),

Kazakh Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate * Kazakh cuisine * Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...

(1.4 million) and Dai (1.2 million). At least 126,000 people from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, the US and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

are living in Mainland China. In addition, there are also unrecognized ethnic groups, for example:

Chuanqing people The Chuanqing people () are an East Asian ethnic group. According to popular ethnogenesis, they are descended from Han Chinese soldiers who were sent to Guizhou area in the eighth and ninth centuries to quell Miao rebellions. The Chuanqings, ho ...

(穿青人), and others, who comprise over 730,000 people.

Ethnic groups recognized by the People's Republic of China

The following are the 56 ethnic groups (listed by population) officially recognized by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

(39 in 1954; 54 by 1964; with the most recent addition the Jino people in 1979). ^A GB 3304－91 "Names of ethnicities of China in romanization with codes";
^BThe population only includes

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...

;
^CFor ethnic groups officially recognised in 1964 or earlier, this is the year of first inclusion in the national census, which were in 1954 and 1964;
¹Also included are the Chuanqing;
²Also includes Utsuls of Hainan, descended from Cham refugees;
³One subset of which is also known as Hmong and other include

Hmu The Hmu language (''hveb Hmub''), also known as Qiandong Miao (黔东, Eastern Guizhou Miao), Central Miao, East Hmongic, or (somewhat ambiguously) Black Miao, is a dialect cluster of Hmongic languages of China. The best studied dialect is that ...

, Xong and A-Hmao. Some of the related languages and groups of peoples are not necessarily classified under the "Miao" umbrella, which makes this term somewhat vague.
⁴including

Amdo Amdo ( �am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the ...

wa and Khampa, as well as roughly half of Pumi speakers, the remainder of whom are classified as a separate Pumi ethnicity;
⁵Also known as ''Kam'';
⁶Also included are the Sangkong;
⁷This category includes several different Tai-speaking groups historically referred to as ''Bai-yi'' n fact, the ''Dai'' nationalities are actually speakers of Shan languages varieties -for example : Tai Lue and Tai Nuea peoples are actually Shan peoples subgroups Although that, the speakers of Bumang are also included in this ''Dai'' nationality. ;
⁸Also included are the

Mosuo The Mosuo (; also spelled Moso, Mosso or Musuo), often called the Naxi among themselves, are a small ethnic group living in China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, close to the border with Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet. Consisting of a population ...

;
⁹Also included are the Qago ();
¹⁰Known as ''Kachin'' in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

;
¹¹Also included are the

Then Then may refer to: * Then language, spoken in Guizhou province of China * "Then", a song on the 1970 album ''Time and a Word'' by English rock band Yes * ''Then'' (Canadian series), a 1999 compilation album released in Canada * ''Then'' (Misako ...

;
¹²Actually not Tajik people but Pamiri people;
¹³The same group as Vietnamese or '' Kinh people'' in Sino-Vietnamese;
¹⁴Known as ''Palaung'' in

;
¹⁵The same group as Nanai on the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n side of the border;
¹⁶A collective name for all Taiwanese aborigine groups in Taiwan. In fact, the numbers of ''Gaoshan'' in census covers only those who lives in Mainland China (mainly in Fujian) and consists of Amis (autonym: ''Pangcah''), Paiwan and Bunun peoples

Taiwanese aborigines

The

government officially refers to all

Taiwanese Aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese Han Taiwanese, Taiwanese Han (), Taiwane ...

(), as ''Gaoshan'' (), whereas the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a Country, country in East Asia, at the junction of the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) to the n ...

recognizes 16 groups of Taiwanese aborigines. The term ''Gaoshan'' has a different connotation in Taiwan than it does in

"Unrecognized" ethnic minority groups

Beijing-Niujie-Minzu-Tuanjie-Da-Jiating-3666

This is a list of ethnic groups in China that are not officially recognized by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

of the

. * Äynu (艾努人 ''Àinǔrén'') * Altaians (Oirots) are classified as Mongols * Fuyu Kyrgyz are classified as Kyrgyz * Gejia ( Gě-chinese

家人 ''Gèjiārén'') * Bajia (八甲人 ''Bājiǎrén'') * Deng (僜人 ''Dèngrén'') * Hu (户人 ''Hùrén'') * Khmu (克木人 ''Kèmùrén'') *

Kucong The Kucong () are an ethnic group in China. They are considered one of the poorest minorities in the country. There are around 80,000 Kucong people, living primarily in the Mojiang, Xinping, and Mengla counties of China's Yunnan Province. Some li ...

(Yellow Lahu / Lahu Shi; 苦聪人 / 苦聰人 ''Kǔcōngrén'') * Mang (芒人 ''Mángrén'') * Ili Turks (土尔克人 / 土爾克人) * Sherpas (夏尔巴人 / 夏爾巴人 ''Xià'ěrbārén'') *

Tankas is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poe ...

(疍家人 / 蜑家人 ''Dànjiārén'') including

Fuzhou Tanka Fuzhou Tanka (Fuzhou dialect: 曲蹄; Foochow Romanized: Kuóh-dà̤ ; Simplified Chinese: 福州疍民 Hók-ciŭ Dáng-mìng; 江妹仔 Gĕ̤ng-muói-giāng; 曲蹄婆 Kuóh-dà̤-bò̤), or Boat People, are from Fujian, China. A branch of the ...

* Tebbu (迭部人 ''Diébùrén'') *

Tuvans The Tuvans ( tyv, Тывалар, Tıvalar) are a TurkicOtto Maenchen-Helfen, Journey to Tuva, p. 169 ethnic group indigenous to Siberia who live in Russia ( Tuva), Mongolia, and China. They speak Tuvan, a Siberian Turkic language. They are ...

(图瓦人 ''Túwǎrén'') are considered part of the Mongol ethnicity *

Waxiang Waxiang (; ) is a divergent variety of Chinese, spoken by the Waxiang people, an unrecognized ethnic minority group in the northwestern part of Hunan province, China. Waxiang is a distinct language, very different from its surrounding Southwest ...

(瓦乡人 ''Wǎxiāng rén'') *

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

(犹太人 / 猶太人 ''Yóutàirén'') (Jewish people of China and Jews in general) * Macanese (土生葡人 ''Tǔshēng púrén''), mixed race Catholic Portuguese speakers who lived in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

since 16th century of various ethnic origins * Utsuls (回辉人 ''Huíhuīrén''), descendants of Cham Muslims who fled Vietnamese invasions of

Champa Champa ( Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd ...

* Han subgroups such as

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hun ...

, Hoklo,

Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ', Hainanese Pinyin: ',), also known as Qióngwén, Heng2 vun2 () or Qióngyǔ, Heng2 yi2 (), is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan and Overseas Chinese ...

, Gaoshan Han, Hui'an and Tunbaos. During the Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (2000), 734,438 persons in the Chinese mainland, 97% of them in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, were specifically recorded as belonging to "Undistinguished ethnic groups".第五次人口普查数据(2000年). 表1—6. 省、自治区、直辖市分性别、民族的人口
( Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (2000). Table 1-6: Population of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities by ethnicity). Presumably, other members of such groups may have been counted within larger "recognized" groups.

Ethnic groups in Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and

are special administrative regions of the

. The governments of Hong Kong and Macau do not use the official PRC ethnic classification system, nor does the PRC's official classification system take ethnic groups in Hong Kong and Macau into account. Minority groups such as Europeans (mainly English and Portuguese), and South or Southeast Asians (mainly Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Nepalese, and Pakistanis) live in Hong Kong.

Gallery

File:Yellow and green hanfu.jpg, Han File:Ethnic Zhuang Costumes Guangnan Yunnan China.jpg, Zhuang File:A Manchu young man dressed in traditional clothes.jpg,

File:Hui man.jpg, Hui File:Miao zu-Miao minority young man.jpg, Miao File:Khotan-melikawat-chicas-d03.jpg, Uyghur File:Tujia women.jpg,

File:Yi woman in traditional dressing.jpg, Yi File:Morin Khuur, South Mongolian Style.jpg,

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

References

External links

"Chinese ethnic odyssey"
- collection of articles from the '' People's Daily''
Family album of Chinese 56 ethnic groups

Map share of ethnic by county of China

Map share of dominate ethnic by county of China
{{Authority control

Ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

China